Discharge from hospital: Information for family, friends and carers

Your help could include:

Shopping
Personal care
Cooking
Cleaning
Assisting with transport

Whatever it is, it will help our team and the person’s recovery.

If your friend or relative is happy for you to be involved, you should be included in discussions about what they will need after they leave hospital.

Hospital staff should involve you and listen to you. You should feel comfortable asking our team questions.

Important questions to ask about the person you’re caring for:

When will they leave hospital?
What support will they require once they get home?
What support is available and when?
How long will they need support?
Will they need special equipment at home?

Discharge

Once our health and social care team agree it’s safe, your friend or relative will be discharged.

When they are well and it is safe for them to be discharged, they cannot remain in hospital if they do not wish to accept the support package which is offered.

The hospital discharge team will help to identify the options available at this point if ongoing care is needed.

To help makes discharge easier, you can do the following:

Be available at the person’s home to allow for visits from an occupational therapist or to let equipment be delivered
Get some shopping in
Help tidy up or move furniture to fit new equipment
Be there when they return home

Your needs matter too, so don’t over-commit yourself and think about how things will be in the longer term.

When deciding what you can offer, consider the following:

Realistically, can you provide the care that is needed?
Do you have any commitments, like looking after grandchildren or going to school, university or work?
How will you fit that in with your caring role?
Do you have the time to look after yourself as well as someone else?

Remember: support is always available.